


Spontaneous

by Im_The_Doctor (Bofur1)



Category: Undertale (Video Game), underswap
Genre: Alternate Universe - Underswap (Undertale), Awkward Crush, Awkwardness, Best Friends, Couch Cuddles, Developing Relationship, Embarrassment, F/M, Fishbones - Freeform, Fluff, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Illustrations, Includes Art, Movie Night, Papyrus: breathes, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Friendship, Secret Crush, Shock, Shyness, Sleep, Sleepy Cuddles, That's it that's the plot, Undyne: internally screaming, Watching Someone Sleep, Which is the right ship name?, papdyne, undyrus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-20
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:34:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28200966
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bofur1/pseuds/Im_The_Doctor
Summary: Papyrus falls asleep during a movie night with Undyne. While not uncommon, it puts her in an awkward position. It feels different this time.
Relationships: Papyrus/Undyne (Undertale)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	Spontaneous

**Author's Note:**

> Screw it, Underswap Undyrus is adorable :'D

Undyne was used to awkward situations; she seemed to find herself in them more often than anyone else she knew and when she wasn’t stumbling into something, an awkward situation came to her. Regardless, being used to them didn’t make them any easier to address.

How had it happened so fast? She and Papyrus were having a ball, she thought, yelling over the latest episode of their show. More honestly, she was screeching and squealing while he, sipping tea with honey, grunted and hummed in agreement every so often. All was well, all was _normal_.

As the credits rolled and the next episode set to autoplay, Undyne came down slightly from her adrenaline high. “Ahhh, this is getting so _good!_ ” Abruptly she recalled her cup of noodles, getting cold on the side table, but it was as she tried to shift that she noticed the warm, unfamiliar weight on her shoulder. Papyrus had fallen asleep on her.

For a split second the realization came with indignation and dismay. How could he have fallen asleep now?! He was going to miss everything! Then her soul performed a rather impressive triple-backflip, heat flooding her stunned face.

_Oh, my stars. A…A guy…just fell asleep on me!_

This wasn’t just any “guy”; it was Papyrus, one of her best friends. The fact that she could say that with any kind of certainty made him one of her _only_ real friends. They were such an unlikely pair that half the Underground was unaware they knew each other at all, but for once it hadn’t mattered to Undyne how she was being viewed by others. Papyrus didn’t make a big deal out of it—out of anything—so she didn’t have to either. That was what made it easy to enjoy his company. He made her feel…safe.

Did this mean he felt safe with her too? While seeing him doze wasn’t uncommon, he was a guarded monster by nature. He seemed content to let others think he was just lazy, but as a doctor Undyne knew about the 1 HP, the everyday battle with his own body’s needs. Though they hadn’t spoken of it, she knew about the depression too, even if she didn’t know the cause.

Just another thing they had in common, that. They knew each other well enough to figure out where to step safely; they wouldn’t pry into each other’s wounds.

 _Getting off track_. She knew Papyrus slept more than most but when he was in someone’s company, he would never fully relax. At the slightest rustle he would startle awake. Every so often his eyes would flare amber as he sat up, leaving Undyne to wonder what he thought he might find when he opened them.

He hadn’t stirred when she tried to go for the noodles. How deep was his sleep? How long had he been leaning on her without her notice? More importantly, what was she supposed to do now?

 _Wake him up, obviously_. Right? Then he would push away, probably apologize for losing track of the plot. She could nervously laugh it off, grab her soup and everything would return to standard operating procedure!

“Hey, um…Pap? I-I kind of need you to move,” she whispered, feeling a little pathetic and helpless. “So I can…uh, reach my food.” It was a paltry excuse. He was on her opposite side, hardly in the way; reaching with her free arm to snatch the cup wouldn’t take much effort. Although, if she did lean that way, there was a real chance he could slide down unpropped and end up with his head pressing into her ribs, which would be even less ideal. Her stomach squeezed at the idea: he with an unnecessary crick in his neck and she popping a blood vessel by way of internally screaming.

_Nudge him, then…?_

Yet, knowing what she did about that 1 HP and chronic fatigue, she couldn’t in good conscience. When was the last time he had slept properly? He really had made himself comfortable, long legs curled up on the couch, arms folded into the safety of his hoodie and the curve of his cheekbone well nestled against her shoulder. Despite his angular features, his resting face was gentle—jaw loose, snoring softly. Even the dark, bruise-like rings under his eye sockets looked kinder under the light from the TV.

Either he produced more body heat than she would have expected or Undyne was coming down with a fever. Fins bristling, she struggled to tear her gaze away from him, focus on something else. The next episode was already a few minutes gone, but her mind was already spiraling. Watching her onscreen OTP dance shyly around each other sent nervous jitters coursing through her arms and legs. She could already imagine how freakin’ _adorable_ it would be to see MC with her love interest dozing against her like this.

How did Undyne look right now? Anxious, uncertain, paralyzed? Definitely not freakin’ adorable.

Papyrus _was_ rather handsome, in his own way…not that Undyne had taken note of it before. Obviously she didn’t pay any special attention to the unique lopsidedness of his grin, or the charming roll in his voice when he genuinely laughed, or how elegant and methodical his hands were, or the way his hoodie hiked up on his hipbones when he stretched—

Wheezing out a tiny, mortified curse, Undyne squeezed her clammy palms firmly between her knees. _Shut u-u-u-up_ , she begged all of the traitorously cute mental images surfacing—things she hadn’t even consciously committed to memory, little quirks he had that she wouldn’t have given a second thought to before. _Shut up!_

 _Too late_ , they singsonged mischievously as she snuck another glance at him. He hadn’t budged an inch. Couldn’t he feel her trembling?

_Ugh, stars, I’m getting all sweaty! I haven’t showered! Do I smell…fishy? Like, in the bad way? Would he even notice something like that in his sleep? He’d probably move away on his own if he did…_

In such close contact, she was acutely aware of _his_ scent now: mostly just the musk of cigarettes. He smelled like that more often than not—less than attractive, but she had become desensitized to smoke over the course of her more explosive experiments. It didn’t bother her.

Shouldn’t the snoring be an irritant then? Even the smallest noises could prove distracting for her, leading her on a hunt through the lab to figure out whatever was kicking up so she could silence it. But this was…different somehow. His faint, rattling breaths sounded rather like the fans in her computers—a consistent, cat-like purr. It was almost soothing.

So that wasn’t enough to stave it off either? Unbelievable. She was actually trying to rationalize herself out of a crush and _failing_. Her blush was so fierce now, it felt like her face would burst into flames at any moment.

It definitely would, Undyne decided half a second later, soul in her throat as Papyrus mumbled something unintelligible and instinctively snuggled closer, drawn to the warmth.

 _That’s it, I’m gonna die. Goodbye, world. Soul leaving body_.

Before she departed this mortal coil, however, she would move her free arm slowly, very slowly, wrap her fingers securely around her phone and take a picture. She would bury it in an archive four subfolders deep, where no one else would see, just…to have for herself as reassurance. She needed some viable proof tomorrow that this whole scenario was more than a preposterous, adorable dream.

If only she knew what Papyrus was dreaming of. If she could take a peek, she absolutely would have combusted on the spot.


End file.
